Enjoy a Debt-Free Holiday

Learn our tricks for surviving the holidays on a budget

Learn our tricks for surviving the holidays on a budget

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12 Tips for Enjoying a Debt-Free Holiday

12 Tips for Enjoying a Debt-Free Holiday

It’s never easy to stick to a budget during the holidays, but factor in this season’s particularly unfestive gas and food prices, and you might start sympathizing with poor Mr. Scrooge (maybe the guy was burdened with a high-interest mortgage?). Still, there’s no reason get all bah humbug about things. We’ve rounded up lots of simple ways to trim your seasonal expenses without sacrificing any of your favorite traditions. Feel free to thank us on January 2 when you wake up without that holiday-spending hangover!

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Check your list twice

Check your list twice

Your gift list, that is. If it keeps getting longer and pricier, it's time for some creative rethinking. Instead of buying a toy for every child in your extended family, why not give family gifts, like memberships to a local children's z

12 Tips for Enjoying a Debt-Free Holiday

It’s never easy to stick to a budget during the holidays, but factor in this season’s particularly unfestive gas and food prices, and you might start sympathizing with poor Mr. Scrooge (maybe the guy was burdened with a high-interest mortgage?). Still, there’s no reason get all bah humbug about things. We’ve rounded up lots of simple ways to trim your seasonal expenses without sacrificing any of your favorite traditions. Feel free to thank us on January 2 when you wake up without that holiday-spending hangover!

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Check your list twice

Your gift list, that is. If it keeps getting longer and pricier, it's time for some creative rethinking. Instead of buying a toy for every child in your extended family, why not give family gifts, like memberships to a local children's z

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Decorate like a pro

To make yourself less vulnerable to impulse buys (snowflake-themed doormat, anyone?), come up with a simple, strategic plan for updating your holiday decor this season. An inexpensive but dramatic idea from Ramsland: Tie a bright or meta

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Keep a holiday cash stash

This year, resolve to pay for gifts using old-fashioned paper money instead of credit cards. "When you're using plastic, it's easy to talk yourself into splurging a bit more for a gift," explains Trent Hamm, author of 365 Ways to Live

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Don't be scared to DIY

You already know homemade gifts are money-savers. But you have to be an overachieving superwoman with 20 spare hours a week

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Party all weekend long

Instead of inviting your college friends over one week and your neighbors the next, book the events back-to-back, Ramsland suggests. By offering the same menu both nights, you'll get more mileage out of the fresh ingredients you buy and

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Be a smart shipper

If you mail many gifts to relatives, buy all the items for one household through a site that's offering free shipping (many retailers do during the month of November) and ship them direct. If you'd rather not spend extra to have the reta

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Don't throw away money on wrapping paper

Sure, choosing this year's pattern is fun, but once you see it wadded on the living room floor, you might regret paying extra for a particularly pretty one. Even if you're crafts phobic, it's painless to make your own gift wrap. Start wi

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Buy hostess gifts in bulk

Got a lot of parties on the end-of-year calendar? Early in the season, visit a local liquor store and pick up a case of wine—either of a particular bottle you love, or a mix-and-match assortment, which many stores allow. Leave the box

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Burn less cash getting to Grandma's house

Between prices at the gas pump and extra charges at the airport, getting over the river and through the woods is going to be pricey this year. But you can